Vehicle Interior Monitoring After Shutdown for Hidden Occupant Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle interior monitoring systems fail to detect a living body when it is in a state where it is undetected by sensors, despite being present inside the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle interior monitoring apparatus that acquires sensor data after the vehicle's power is off and the door is closed, performs detection processing to identify a living body, and sends notifications to a pre-registered terminal when environmental criteria are met, even if the living body is no longer detected by sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensor-based detection is used to monitor living bodies in the vehicle interior, then detection capability is provided, but the system fails to detect living bodies when they are in undetected states (e.g., covered by blankets, in shadowed areas)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces environmental parameter monitoring (temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration) as an intermediary to infer the presence of living bodies. When sensors fail to detect a living body directly, the system uses environmental parameters as a mediator to indirectly determine living body presence, thereby resolving the contradiction between detection capability and detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical/optical sensor detection with environmental parameter measurement. Instead of relying solely on visual or physical contact sensors that can be blocked or obscured, the system uses environmental sensors to detect physiological effects of living bodies on the vehicle interior environment, providing more reliable detection in challenging conditions.
2Reliability
If continuous sensor monitoring is performed to detect living bodies, then detection coverage is improved, but computational load and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic environmental parameter monitoring instead of continuous sensor operation. The system monitors environmental parameters at predetermined intervals after the vehicle is stopped and doors are closed, reducing energy consumption while maintaining adequate detection coverage. This periodic action allows the system to detect living bodies without requiring constant sensor operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the vehicle's existing environmental monitoring infrastructure (temperature sensors, CO2 sensors already present for climate control) to perform living body detection, rather than adding dedicated continuous monitoring sensors. This self-service approach leverages existing resources to achieve detection coverage without proportionally increasing energy consumption.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are deployed to improve detection capability, then detection accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes environmental parameters serve multiple functions: they continue to monitor climate control conditions while simultaneously serving as indicators of living body presence. By making the environmental monitoring system multi-functional, the patent improves detection accuracy without adding separate dedicated sensors, thereby avoiding increased system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameters from direct physical detection (visual, tactile sensors) to environmental parameter measurement (temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration). This parameter change allows the system to achieve detection accuracy using existing environmental sensors rather than requiring multiple specialized sensors, thus avoiding increased device complexity.
4Loss of time
If real-time notification is sent when environmental criteria are met, then response time is improved, but communication load and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary determination of living body presence using environmental parameters before initiating notification procedures. The system first monitors environmental parameters and determines whether a living body is present, then only initiates notification if the criteria are met. This preliminary action filters out unnecessary notifications and reduces communication energy consumption while maintaining fast response time for actual detections.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle interior monitoring apparatus (10) includes an acquisition unit (110), a detection unit (120), and a notification processing unit (130). The acquisition unit (110) repeatedly acquires, after a power source of a vehicle is turned off and a door of the vehicle is opened and closed at least once, sensor data indicating a result of detection by a sensor of which a detection range is an interior of the vehicle. The detection unit (120) performs, by using the sensor data, detection processing of a living body existing in the interior, each time the acquisition unit (110) acquires the sensor data. The notification processing unit (130) performs monitoring on an environment of the interior when a living body existing in the interior is detected, and performs notification for a pre-registered terminal (40) when the environment meets a first criterion.